A new article in the BMJ this week reports on a good, clever evaluation of 29 online symptom checkers, showing that some have a clue and some don’t. I love it; in my view the bottom line is “Some are better than nothing, none is near perfect, and some are junk. Learn, but as with all […]

SPM member MaryAnne Sterling is Co-founder of tech startup Connected Health Resources – she’s a healthcare transformer and person-centered care activist whose motto is: no family caregiver left behind. A recent experience, what she calls her “go fund yourself” moment, is captured in this guest post. During the Holidays, I carry on a time-honored tradition in my family: […]

I recently hosted a Google Hangout on Air entitled Patient Reviews of Physicians: The Wisdom of the Crowd? (presented by The Harlow Group LLC in association with The Society for Participatory Medicine). I spoke with Niam Yaraghi (Center for Technology Innovation, The Brookings Institution) and Casey Quinlan (Mighty Casey Media) following their interesting back-and-forth online […]

Patient Reviews of Physicians: The Wisdom of the Crowd? Google Hangout On Air Hosted by David Harlow with Niam Yaraghi and Casey Quinlan Wed, Jun 24, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET Presented by David Harlow (aka HealthBlawg) in association with The Society for Participatory Medicine. I am hosting a conversation with Niam Yaraghi (Center […]

Weill Cornell produced a series of mini-documentary style videos showcasing mentoring at their institution. This final video specifically focuses on how patients mentor their students. http://weill.cornell.edu/news/news/2015/05/inside-medicine-meeting-in-the-middle.html Go Weill Cornell! Let’s hope we will find out more about their LEAP (Longitudinal Educational Experience Advancing Patient Partnerships) program!

This blog welcomes guest posts from SPM members on relevant topics. This is a blog post by Annette McKinnon, an e-patient in Canada. Annette is an enthusiastic advocate for patient inclusion in research and healthcare decision making. She has had rheumatoid arthritisfor the past 30 years, and has a background in market research. She attended […]

Ordinarily we limit guest posts to current members of SPM, but this is an extraordinary case. Duncan Cross’s post illustrates so many aspects of how empowered, engaged, activated patients view their lives, and how important it is to have an effective partnerships with their medical professionals. This is exemplary – except for the physician’s rejection […]

This blog welcomes guest posts from SPM members on relevant topics. This is a blog post by Annette McKinnon, an e-patient in Canada. Annette is an enthusiastic advocate for patient inclusion in research and healthcare decision making. She has had rheumatoid arthritisfor the past 30 years, and has a background in market research. She attended […]

Created using Bitstrips. Text engine: Up Goer Five, “Can you explain a hard idea using only the ten hundred most used words? It’s not very easy.” Bottom line: When you go to the doctor, any doctor, always ask for your records. Ideally, electronic versions of your records that you can look […]

SPM member/legend Regina Holliday, a powerful force for grass roots empowerment and creator of The Walking Gallery of Healthcare, got whooping cough (pertussis) this winter, despite having been vaccinated just a few years earlier. The UK magazine Pharma Times interviewed her for their inside-back-cover feature in the current issue. She details how she took advantage […]

Welcome

Participatory Medicine is a model of cooperative health care that seeks to achieve active involvement by patients, professionals, caregivers, and others across the continuum of care on all issues related to an individual's health. Participatory medicine is an ethical approach to care that also holds promise to improve outcomes, reduce medical errors, increase patient satisfaction and improve the cost of care.